Today we continue our series entitled, “Faith and Patience Volume IV — The Wonder Twins”. I am using Joseph as a good example of our need for patience. We are seeking to learn from the different phases of Joseph’s life. Each phase (paternal, pit, Potiphar, prison, and palace/Prime Minister) has significance to this series and to our lives. Let’s get into it.
(James 1:2-4 TPT)
2 My fellow believers, when it seems as though you are facing nothing but difficulties see it as an invaluable opportunity to experience the greatest joy that you can!
3 For you know that when your faith is tested it stirs up power within you to endure all things.
4 And then as your endurance grows even stronger it will release perfection into every part of your being until there is nothing missing and nothing lacking.
(Gen 39:21 ERV)
21 The Lord was with Joseph and continued to show his kindness to him, so the commander of the prison guards began to like Joseph.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Developing Godly patience is required to walk with God for the long haul.
As a recap from yesterday’s message, I feel led to drive home the point that we have to balance our knowledge of God’s future plans for us, with the reality of the things we need to do today. Developing Godly patience is about learning to manage that balance and keeping your heart open to both the greatness of God’s future for you and the focus you need to make the most of today.
Never allow the greatness of your tomorrow to cause you to lose focus today. Additionally, never allow the pain or disappointment you feel today to cause you to forget about what God said concerning your tomorrow (this is spiritual amnesia).
Joseph did not just wait on God. He worked his purpose while he waited. He may not have liked his current state (at the time), but he knew that his state was not his fate. He knew greater was coming, but he also sought to make the most of the present time. He was patient while he waited for God to do what He said He would do. This is how we are supposed to live. This is why we need faith and patience in order to receive and enjoy the promises of God!
2. God is still with you.
When bad things happen to good people it is understandable if they question whether or not God is still with them. Especially when you consider the fact that the devil will do all he can to cause you to question His presence. I have been in ministry long enough, and I have ministered to enough people to have heard lots of stories. When someone goes through a painful divorce, satan will tell them that God is no longer with them. Or they will even question God’s presence themselves. The same happens when someone had great plans or their business, but they wind up having to file for bankruptcy. Or (and this one is really painful), when you are praying for someone who is sick, someone you love, and you know God has used you to release healing into countless people, but then your loved one dies right in front of you. It’s easy to question whether or not God is there.
Joseph received a dream from God when he was a teenager. He got excited about the dream. But ever since he shared the dream with his family, his life went haywire. He was betrayed by his brothers, he was sold into slavery, and he was then falsely accused of sexual assault. I am sure Joseph felt like he had done nothing wrong because in many regards he had not. His greatest fault, you could say, was that he believed God. He believed in God’s dream. He believed that what God said would come to pass. But that did not stop him from waking up one morning in prison.
So there he was, in prison, without committing any crime or really doing anything wrong at all. And the very first thing the Bible says about Joseph in prison is: “The Lord was with Joseph and continued to show his kindness to him, so the commander of the prison guards began to like Joseph.” God was still there and His favor was still flowing.
The point I am making here is that God is still with you. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. He will never turn His back on you. He will never relax the grip that He has on you. While you are waiting on Him to do what He said He would do in your life, you may go through painful situations. You may experience things you did not plan and you certainly do not want. But one of the major reasons why you can be patient is because you know that God is still with you. He never left you and He never will. God’s presence does NOT mean that you will have an absence of pain. His presence does NOT mean you will have an absence of opposition. His presence and His call on your life may actually attract more problems than you wanted (like it did with Joseph).
This is what you must understand: when you ask for LESS PROBLEMS, what God does is give you MORE GRACE! Instead of bringing your problems DOWN, He brings you grace UP! God is with you. His grace is on you. His favor is going before you. You may not like the situation you are in, but just know that God is with you, He has not left you, and this too shall pass. The situation will ultimately change, but God will not. He will be with you today, tomorrow and the day after that. His presence brings with it His peace, His power, and His grace. If you understand this, you can be patient while you remain in faith!
3. God has not forgotten about you or your purpose.
When something bad happens, the devil will do all he can to cause you to question God’s commitment to you. The devil will tell you that God has forgotten about you or that He is no longer committed to the plans He made for you. But the truth is that God already knew everything that would ever happen to you (good, bad, or indifferent) when He called you. So nothing you do, or nothing that happens to you, can cause God to change His mind. He said it and He will perform it. He promised it and He shall make it good. He is more committed to you and to the plans He made for you (before the world began) than you are.
The Bible says, “Even when we are faithless towards Him, God remains faithful towards us—for He cannot deny himself.” (2 Tim 2:13). The point here is that every time satan looks at us, he sees sin. Every time God looks at us, He sees His Son and He sees the plans He made for us before the world began. For God to deny us, He would have to deny Himself and He is not willing to do that!
God has not forgotten you and He never will. If you truly believe this, you can be patient while you remain in faith for God to do what He said He would do in your life!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for the reminder today. You are with me and You will never forget about me. No matter what I face, I remind myself that You are ON me, IN me, WITH me and FOR me! You are greater than the entire world against me. Not only are You with me, but You are committed to me and to the plans You made for me before the world began. When You look at me, You see yourself and You see those plans. To deny me, You would have to deny Yourself and I know You never will. So I enter this day meditating on Your presence, Your peace, Your power, and Your grace! There is nothing I cannot do because You are with me everywhere I go! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
